Leukemia is a common malignancy of the hematologic system. Leukemia cells accumulate in bone marrow and other hematopoietic tissues due to mechanisms such as uncontrolled proliferation, impaired differentiation, and blocked apoptosis in massive clonal proliferation and infiltration of other non-hematopoietic tissues and organs, while inhibiting normal hematopoietic function.
There are four major factors thought to contribute to leukemia:
- Radiological factors
- Chemical factors
- Viral infections
- Genetic factors
In terms of leukemogenic factors, it appears that a possible association between leukemogenesis and blood type lies in the susceptibility of different blood types to certain viruses, chemicals, and physical damage, as well as subtle pathological differences in individuals with different blood types who develop certain chromosomal damage mutations.
Because leukemia is a multifactorial, multistep, multiple-hit cumulative process, the role of different blood types in the complex pathogenesis of leukemia can be almost negligible.